AstraZeneca: shares rise after positive clinical results.

(CercleFinance.com) - Shares in AstraZeneca are up almost 3% today, after the company announced positive results from two phase III clinical trials in lung cancer.


The company said trial results showed Tagrisso reduced the risk of progression or death by more than half in patients with locally-advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The drugmaker reported an unprecedented median progression-free survival (PFS) of 18.9 months, compared with 10.2 months for the current standard of care.

AstraZeneca also said that another phase III trial showed that Imfinzi (durvalumab) demonstrated a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) compared to current standard of care in patients with locally-advanced (Stage III), unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which had not progressed following chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The results of both trials were presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in Madrid, Spain.

After these results, analysts at Bryan Garnier decided to upgrade their rating on the shares from "neutral" to "buy," with an increased fair value of 5,380 pence (versus 4,700 pence).

The AstraZeneca share is currently up 2.6% at 4,915 pence on the London Stock Exchange.

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